Cost of living comparison

compared to

Carolina vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Carolina is 3.3% more expensive than Manila.

Groceries
pay 2.1 times more in Carolina
Transportation
pay 1.0% more in Carolina
Housing
pay 25.0% more in Carolina
Entertainment and Sports
pay 73.5% less in Carolina
Clothing
pay 50.5% less in Carolina

The cost of groceries, housing, and transportation in Carolina are more expensive than in Manila. Expenses including entertainment and sports and clothing are lower in Carolina. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Carolina.

Carolina vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Carolina instead of Manila, you would:

pay (unknown) more for restaurants

 
Manila
Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.02
₱363.72
??
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.30
₱259.80
??
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.97
₱58.67
??

Improve prices ·

pay 2.1 times more for groceries

 
Manila
Carolina
Bread
1 loaf
$1.33
₱80.56
??
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.28
₱258.29
??
Milk (1 gallon) $7.32
₱442.20
$8.37
 

Improve prices ·

pay 1.0% more for transportation

 
Manila
Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.18
₱252.49
$4.22
 
Monthly public transit pass $13.76
₱831.36
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $25,288.58
₱2M
??

Improve prices ·

pay 25.0% more for housing

 
Manila
Carolina
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$27.10
₱1,637.17
$44.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $512.96
₱30,987.18
$450.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $251.74
₱15,206.98
??

Improve prices ·

pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Manila
Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $138.58
₱8,371.38
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $17,035.39
₱1M
??

Improve prices ·

pay 73.5% less for entertainment and sports

 
Manila
Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.46
₱88.33
??
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.59
₱156.30
??
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.27
₱197.45
??

Improve prices ·

pay 50.5% less for clothing

 
Manila
Carolina
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$49.23
₱2,973.73
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$29.70
₱1,793.95
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$80.85
₱4,884.19
$40.00
 

Improve prices ·
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2026
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Philippines vs. Puerto Rico. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Philippines and Puerto Rico.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Carolina or Manila. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.